MichiganTrumpet (Marianne) 2014 Challenge Part 7

Because I can't believe it has been 26 years already with my Darling Husband.

And because it has some bearing on my discussion on posts #3 and #4 below.

Newbie to the 75 Book Challenge and posting on LT. Looking forward to a great year!




1. The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
2. I Am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
3. The Last Dead Girl by Harry Dolan
4. Transatlantic by Colum McCann
5. The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
6. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
7. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
8. Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
9. Lady Catherine, the Earl and the Real Downton Abbey by the Countess of Carnarvon
10. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
11. The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew -- Three Women Search For Understanding by Ranya Idliby.
12. Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin
13. Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo
14. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
15. The Remedy, Robert Koch, Arthur Conan Doyle and the Quest to Cure Tuberculosis by Thomas Goetz
16. Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
17. Sous Chef by Michael Gibney
18. Double Cross by Ben McIntyre
19. Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber
20. Agent Zigzag by Ben McIntyre
21. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
22. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor
23. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
24. When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor
25. Longbourn by Jo Baker
26. Phantom by Jo Nesbo
27. The Tigers of '68: Baseball's Last Real Champions by George Cantor
28. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
29. The Map Thief by Michael Blanding
30. Bella Fortuna by Rosanna Chiofalo
31. Skios by Michael Frayn
32. Murder in Sentier by Cara Black
33. The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp
34. Police by Jo Nesbo
35. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
36. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
37. Enon by Paul Harding
38. Murder at the Lanterne Rouge by Cara Black
39. Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life by Natalie Dykstra
40. Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff
41. Forever Chic by Tish Jett
42. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
43. Famous Baby by Karen Rizzo
44. The Bat by Jo Nesbo
45. The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
46. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
47. American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
48. The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
49. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
50. The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman
51. A Weekend in the Country by Linda Sally Ann
52. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben McIntyre
53. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor
54. Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich
55. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
56. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
57. Shadows in the Vineyard by Maximillian Potter
58. Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman
59. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown
60. Atlantic: The Biography of an Ocean by Simon Winchester
61. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
62. Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor
63. The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro
64. An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd
65. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
66. The Red House by Mark Haddon
67. Nemesis by Jo Nesbo
68. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami

43. Famous Baby by Karen Rizzo
3.5 Stars



Karen Rizzo’s novel Famous Baby is a hilarious take on dysfunctional families and the so-called ‘Sandwich Generation’ -- those split between their children and their aging parents. Ruth is the Mother of Mommy Bloggers, having posted for years about the exploits of her only daughter, Abby. She is so successful, her writing has become a bestselling book. Now graduated from high school, the darling daughter has gone ‘off-grid’ depriving Ruth not only of her sole progeny but a large part of her literary inspiration. At least, she still has her Alzheimer stricken mother to move in. What a relief – the blog will carry on! -- until Abby spirits Grandma away from the nursing home to save her the indignity of having her last days splayed across the internet. Told from the alternating perspectives of Ruth and Abby, with screen shots of the ongoing blog thrown in. Fast-paced, funny and touching as well.

Ours is a society in which the acceptable bounds of privacy are ever-changing and up for grabs. What some people look upon in horror as TMI (Too Much Information) is accepted by others as part of their voyeuristic due. This book put me in mind of a recent documentary on the life of humorist Erma Bombeck and the impact her newspaper column had on her family. Or, Ann Patchett who wrote posthumously about her dear friend Lucy Grealy only to be chastised by Grealy’s sister Suellen for a telling a story which wasn’t hers to tell.

How far is too far? How do we even know how to draw the line anymore in our Twitter-Facebook-Reddit overshared world? Famous Baby may have you also pondering what constitutes the transgressive.

So after having read Famous Baby and the discussion about what/how to share ...

Here are my questions: How do you decide what to post here on LT and on other social media?

How do you decide about how much to post about family members/friends/etc?

I had real quandries about posting the wedding picture above. Is it infringing on the DH's privacy?

Where do you draw the line? Is there such a thing as privacy anymore?

Do you even worry about these things?

This sort of thing is something I've been pondering lately, actually, including the issue of presenting sanitized versions of ourselves on social media -- there's very little authenticity with many people, who instead create a sort of persona based around what they selectively post online.

For me, all of my immediate family uses Facebook, so I feel fine posting photos of us together (though I rarely take photos like that, I'm a lazy photographer). I think if we want privacy we have to chase it and be very diligent, but it can be done. In general, I'm comfortable posting stories / anecdotes on LT because of who the audience is, but I don't usually name the individuals for that very reason.

>5 dk_phoenix: interesting thoughts, Faith, particularly as to the 'persona' vs. the authentic. I'm going to have to think some more on that.

Happy New thread, Marianne! Love the wedding topper. What a great looking couple!
Have a great weekend.

>4 michigantrumpet: very interesting questions there, Marianne. When I joined LT in 2007, it seemed like very few people would even volunteer their first name. We referred to one another by our LT "handles." I joined a private group where we shared more freely, but agreed not to use first names outside of the group. OF course, all this was before the 75ers really got going, and we are a friendly bunch. Also during that time I started using Facebook, and it started to seem weird to be more anonymous here than I am there. I share family photos on Facebook and I'm Facebook friends with many LTers, but will occasionally post photos on my LT thread as well. I dunno ... it is a quandary, how much to share, but I feel like people here are friends just like real life, F2F friends.

Happy new thread, Marianne. What a lovely wedding photo.

Lovely wedding photo Marianne and interesting questions. I guess all of us question at one time or another what to post and what to leave private. Here in the 75 group I'm so comfortable that I wouldn't hesitate to post just about anything. Still there are times when I hesitate. It's quite the quandary. On FB I'm much more a lurker and seldom post anything. Of course that might change a month from now when a new little grandchild enters my life:-)

I am still uncomfortable sharing anything private with these people. Do we really KNOW them?? Grins...

Yes, Mark, you are obviously so worried about privacy that you invite complete strangers to your home!

It's a good question. I don't have family or close friends to post about, so I'm the wrong person to be answering the question probably, but I do occasionally post about work and in general I won't post names here.

To me another interesting question is the intersection of Facebook and LT. I see lots of people whose threads I follow saying to check out the photos they posted on Facebook, or someone commenting in someone else's thread continuing a conversation they had started on Facebook and it does make me feel left out sometimes to read those things because I am not FB friends with them. On the other hand, I am very reticent about sending FB friends request to people I haven't met in real life, unless we have a particularly close relationship here on LT, precisely because I don't know how others feel about it since the way other people use FB can be much more personal (I myself adhere to the old adage of not posting anything I wouldn't want to see on a billboard in my hometown). It's all a bit of a minefield.

>12 rosalita: I know I often will post something that I saw on FB, but I do try hard to not make my post dependent on having seen the original FB post.

Now to go back to the original questions posted by >4 michigantrumpet::

How do you decide what to post here on LT and on other social media?
I just carefully weigh it in terms of privacy and personal things to decide what I'm comfortable having out there and what I'm not.

How do you decide about how much to post about family members/friends/etc?
I generally only post when they know I've taken the photo. I also tend not to tag people but let them tag themselves.

I had real quandaries about posting the wedding picture above. Is it infringing on the DH's privacy?
I think that is between you and him. Did you ask him how he felt? How does he feel about posting of photos online in general? Did you use past experience with his comfort level as a guideline?

Where do you draw the line? Is there such a thing as privacy anymore?
If you look at my FB, the top photos I post are of Brumley (my cat who is no longer with me), food, places/scenery. The photos I post including people are not as big of a part of what I post. I will take photos with their knowledge that they will be posted to FB; however, as I said, I generally let them tag themselves. That doesn't really prevent someone else from tagging them (and that has been done by someone on occasion, although the others in the group have not objected). If someone asks me not to post a photo I take to FB, I honor that request. In regards to the second part of your question, I think there is less privacy than there used to be. Since we have found out that government officials spy on us through our web cams, etc., there is probably almost no such thing.

Do you even worry about these things?
I think about them, but I don't worry myself about things I cannot control. I have done what I can to safeguard my own (and my friends') privacy and have actually tightened a friends setting in the past couple of weeks on FB for a couple of reasons. It's not a change my friends will notice. It's just a more private option.

>12 rosalita: Yep, but I met some wonderful strangers that way! Grins again...

Hi, Marianne.
Happy new thread, what a beautiful couple you make! I have replied to your questions below in a roundabout way, I think this will create some interesting discussions.

Normally when posting things on LT or social media I consider if I would show/say that to someone in real life? If that answer to that is no, I do not say it or post the photo. I never post photos of people that I haven't given me permission.

Personally I do not post much on Facebook at all, only book related things and occasionally a photo of my cat, that being said when I do post personal things I tend not to post things about friends, not that I have many, or family members unless it is kind of generic. I know I wouldn’t like it if people were posting about me and I wasn't asked previous. I know this has happened to a friend who had just had a baby, one of her friends decided to post it all over facebook before she had a chance to tell her extended family. Needless to say she was not happy!

Hope you are having a great weekend, Marianne!

I think we've all probably given at least some thought to these questions. I probably over-share as far as what people are interested in, since my life isn't really interesting. But I figure people can skip whatever they want, or by-pass my thread entirely. My over-sharing, though, has limits, and I wouldn't post anything really deeply personal, especially about my friends or family. I've become uncomfortable with the level of sharing that some people indulge in, both here and on Facebook. I think some things should remain private out of respect for others who are or might be involved. I'll post mini-rants about something annoying my husband has done, but if it were really something serious, no one here or on FB would hear about it.

Great questions, Marianne, and Happy New Thread!
My DH regards my freedom here at LT as a very bad thing. He would definitely NOT want our wedding picture posted here, and I had qualms (and therefore didn't) about identifying him in the group picture of our high school reunion that I posted a couple of years ago. If somebody asked, I told her privately which one he was. I am much freer here than on facebook. The only pictures I've put there have been of my VMCs, a camellia, our Christmas tree, and a picture with my 3 best friends from high school (but they are always posting on fb).

Dear Marianne, I love the topper of course. Longevity in marriage in your case could by the look of the photo have plenty to do with DH seeming to love the smell of your hair!

I am one of those in the group possibly most open about sharing problems and personal details of RL. I guess it depends on comfort levels and I am pretty comfortable with most of you.

Which brings me to a word of thanks for all your kindness and support in my recent dark, dark days. Have a lovely weekend..........what shampoo do you use, pary tell, hehehe.

Hi, Marianne! Hope you're having a great weekend! Lovely wedding photo up top. Sweet memories, huh?

Privacy? What is this thing you call "privacy?" Yesterday (which happened to be my birthday), I went on Google and there were birthday cakes spelling out the name. How in the world did it know it was my birthday? Um, maybe because it's all over the web, not only on LT and FB but other apps which request/require your birthdate. The most one can do it change one's (preferably very complicated) passwords often, don't use "location" on one's smartphone, don't get too specific about people and places, and don't mention being away from home on vaca until after it's over.

I love the wedding photo topper, Marianne. I consider the people I "talk" to on LT as personal friends and freely share my life with them. I don't dwell on unhappy events -- and try to limit the pictures of my grandchildren! I'm pretty quiet on FB which I use mainly to keep up with my Michigan cousins.

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!

Good questions, Marianne. I use Facebook mostly to keep up with family and classmates--both of my nephews post endless pictures of their families and I love it, being far away from both. But I rarely post pictures on Facebook, or personal postings, and have a separate account for my family and personal friends vs. public and games. I didn't participate in the discussion on Morphy's thread about family names because I felt it gave too much information about a person if someone evil were skimming the threads, but I usually feel very comfortable here in general. I have a cousin in the insurance fraud business who says they can find out anything they want to know about you anyway, so I do suspect we have no real privacy, but I try not to aggravate it.

Lovely new thread Marianne and great discussion topic! The only social media accounts I have, outside of LT is a Twitter account. I had a Facebook account for a whole 8 months and then stopped using it and that was 6 years ago. I tend to limit my personal disclosures on the web to chit chat conversational tidbits, as you will have noticed. I don't post pictures of myself or my family/friends, except for last year but that was a torso shot only, no face of me modelling some tops I had made. This carefulness with personal information comes, in part, from the fact that it is ingrained in my work. BC has strict privacy protection laws and working in the public sector has conditioned me to always be cognizant of informed consent, even when it is family and close friends.

That being said, my brother emailed me (and other members of my family) recently a picture of us he had found on the internet that was taken way back in 1976. It's a poised shot and was an amusing flashback to a wonderful barbeque/picnic event I had completely forgotten about. The picture brought a big smile to my face.. as big as the smile I made when the picture was being taken. Am I upset that the picture is up there on the internet for the world to see? Nope. I actually kind of glad that it is there.

>12 rosalita: - Great comment on the intersection of FB and LT, Julia. Like you, I don't have a FB account and don't really want one and yet last weekend I participated in an on-line scavenger hunt (prize was a dystopian book collection of 22 books all signed by the authors) and I was a little ticked that at the end there were I think 30 bonus activities that allowed you to enter your name each time for the draw. Four of the bonus activities involved "Liking" one of the authors on FB. That bugged me a little as it both assumes I have a FB account and if I don't, it is gently nudging me towards creating one.

I don't have the first clue about how much is too much to say/share here because it's entirely situational. As a general rule in life, the less I like someone, the less they feature in my posts. People I actively dislike I ignore in RL and on here.

My Gentleman Caller let me know recently that he'd like to feature more in my posts because he's media-shy and doesn't want to post on the internet, but he reads my stuff and feels a bit put out that I don't say more about him.

Go know. I thought I was being discreet.

>22 lkernagh: You make some good points, Lori. I think I wasn't clear, though; I do have a Facebook account but with very few exceptions the only people I have friended there are people I have met in real life, whether LTers or otherwise. I actually enjoy Facebook as a great way to keep in touch with friends and relatives who are either far away or extremely busy so that I don't see them in person as much as I'd like.

Hey Marianne! Lovely wedding photo.

I'm not on FB, so sharing too much there is not an issue for me. And as for LT, I'm thinking that I don't hold back much, but always in the form of print and not pictures for the main and simple reason that I am pretty camera shy so there are not a lot of pictures of me out there in the world. My friends are fairly safe from me posting pics of them willy-nilly as I am too bone-lazy to take the time learn how to do it properly. I often think of going back to a version of my world before the internet - I am having a kind of love/hate relationship with the net these days and so think of that time a little nostalgically - but I fear that that horse has left the barn permanently and that I am now constitutionally unable to round up that steed and shove him back inside.

>4 michigantrumpet: Interesting. (great review in #3 too)
I am not too wary of posting on FB as I (think I) have my settings so that just my friends can see photos. I don't tag my kids though, and only ever tag people I think are into it.

Here on LT I am only vaguely happy to have my first name on my profile, I was wondering if I should change it to Marge or something just to protect myself from internet users (or RL people) who I don't want knowing my stuff. The LT people I interact with are all kind and I don't feel threatened at all. :)

At Little L's kindergarten they have given parents the option of having an online profile thing where the kids images and artwork etc are posted. I opted out of that thinking that it was unfair on him for his online presence to be ingrained before he even reaches school age.

>19 Storeetllr: yikes! Scary.

I love the wedding photo, Marianne!! You're beautiful!

I'm not as careful here on LT about sharing personal information (only in the 75 group, I mean) because I am truly comfortable here and feel accepted for who I am. So I am authentic and myself.

On Facebook, I am extremely guarded. I am not out in RL except to my family, friends and church. Some work colleagues know, but not all. I'm not closeted at work exactly, I just don't think people know. My mother has always had a very hard time with my sexuality, so I've been very, very careful about my online and RL presence.

Great wedding photo, and I doubt your DH minds! I'm with Tina. I'm more open here on LT than on FB, but I figure everything I say online is public. I'm very careful not to say anything negative about employers or people online, and if I just have to tell a funny story about one of the kids I work with (I work at a school) I make sure not to use enough details that someone who knows the kid could identify him/her. Yes, if someone is really looking at my online presence, they'll learn more about me than the average person who knows me face-to-face but I don't put anything out there that when asked a direct question by a stranger about it, I would be tempted to lie or say mind your own business.

I was away over the weekend -- more on that later. But I came back to all these incredibly thoughtful and thought provoking reflections about posting online. What a great discussion!!

Many, many thanks to Faith, Mark, Laura, Barbara, Bonnie, Julia, Lori (Thorton37814), Nicole, Katie (KatieKrug), Peggy, Paul, Mary, Donna, Roni, Lori (LKernagh), Richard, Charlotte, Megan Tina and Katie(Cammykitty) for sharing your perspective on the issue.

A few thoughts:

The DH said it was okay for me to post the one wedding photo. Whew!

One thing I will NEVER share with anyone is what he is whispering in my ear ...

Seems many, myself included, feel particularly safe and supported in this 75er group. That is such a blessing.

I suspect views on this a topic that will continue to change as the internet changes as well.

Many of you are in my age cohort (give or take a decade or so.) Wondering how high school/college age people view this.

Seems like we all have made a (sometimes uneasy) peace with regards to posting about ourselves. I was particularly taken by people's thoughts re: sharing information about family members, children, friends, significant others, etc.

Any one else want to chime in about where to draw the line on posting about OTHER people in our lives?

Mostly I'm on Facebook to keep up with my family and a few friends. It's become my news feed as well. As for the 75ers, I'm not as guarded but do keep a pretty strict line between what I say on Facebook as opposed to what I say here.

Complaining about not finding work and running out of money of Facebook sometimes engenders "You're not trying hard enough" comments. Yeah, thanks like I didn't feel bad enough as it was.

There are things which happen with Don that I definitely don't post on Facebook because there are people (like his mom) he doesn't want to know what's going on. Plus, his girlfriend has a big ol' hissy fit if I tag him or respond to a post or comment from him.

I feel comfortable venting here because there's so much compassion. And there are things happening in my life which I post neither on Facebook or Library Thing.

My Facebook peeps aren't that interested in all the books I read specifically, but they like to hear once in a while how many total I've read. And sometimes I will post a status about a really terrific book I think some will enjoy.

I want to say I'm a really private person, and I think in some ways I am. But ....

ETA: I don't log in to Facebook from work. Partially, because everyone else does it. Also, if they wind up going through my history, I want them to see LibraryThing and not Facebook. I'm just perverse that way.

Nothing you've learned about me on the internet is true. I've never read a book in my life, but if i did, they would mostly be sci-fi, and I'd prefer Hemingway and Roth to Faulkner. And all those pictures of me? That's nobody I know, just some woman whose photos I've snagged from FB. But, boy, do I have files on all of you!

Happy Anniversary, Marianne! Hope you are celebrating in style.

>31 laytonwoman3rd: I highly recommend reading my file on those nights you just can't get to sleep! You should be nodding off in mere minutes!

Great questions!
I have a FB account that I really have only friended people who I have met in real life. It is mostly just family, friends, and some "friends" (acquaintances) from high school. I have had mixed emotions about posting pictures of my son on FB. However, as all of our family lives away, it has been a means of "sharing" him with them. I try to keep photos of him to only family and really close friends who have actually met him.

I don't mind if people post pics of me, but I get really annoyed when others (mainly my MIL) share photos that I have posted!!

I have posted a few photos of him here on LT as I feel like I had "family" here who were part of my life before him, and during pregnancy. I felt it was a way to share and say thank you for being supportive during those times. Also, I have enjoyed getting to know other 75ers through pictures...

As for other people, I don't really post photos of them unless it was a big function and they also posted photos (weddings, parties, etc)

One thing I do is turn off "location" on my cellphone, so when I post on FB a picture I took with my cell, no one actually knows where it was taken (unless they recognize it from their own personal experience). I also tend not to "tag" pictures I post on FB, leaving it to the people in the picture to tag themselves if they want to. If I'm not sure that a person would want their pic on FB, I don't post it or, I post the pic and crop that person out.

Having said that, I just posted a whole bunch of pics on my thread, mostly of my niece's baby, but I know it's okay because her mom posts a lot of pics of the baby on FB and Instagram.

Hi Marianne!

Interesting questions to consider regarding posting here and on FB. I have to run off to earn the Science Diet, but may stop by later to join in the conversation.

Just posted a few Chihuly pics on my thread. Come on over and check them out?

Hi Marianne! Just checking in. Hope the week went well, my friend.

>30 AuntieClio: Hiya Steph! "... I don't log in to Facebook from work. Partially, because everyone else does it. Also, if they wind up going through my history, I want them to see LibraryThing and not Facebook. I'm just perverse that way."

Ha! I love the way you think!

>31 laytonwoman3rd: The incognito Linda 3rd strikes again! This was one of the biggest smiles of the week -- Thanks!

>32 ronincats: Happy Friday Roni! The Anniversary celebration never ends, it seems. More on that soon, if I get the chance.

>33 rosalita: I've always suspected you of pretending to have this sedate life to cover up for all your hidden superpowers, Julia.

>34 jayde1599: Welcome Jess! So good to see you here! I think many of us feel a certain safety here with our fellow 75ers.

>35 Storeetllr: and >37 Storeetllr: Chihuly!! You can post pictures of his artwork all day! Lovely pics, BTW. I just went and checked them out. thanks for letting me know.

>36 EBT1002: Hello Ellen -- I've been meaning to reach out to you, too. Have you been following the uproar over the Ohio State Marching Band firing their director over a sexualized environment? Reading some of the comments to the reports in the Columbus newspaper is amazing reading.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/07/24/ohio-state-band-waters....

>38 msf59: Hi back, Mark! It's been a hectic week. How hectic, you ask? So hectic, I haven't EVEN started reading Book 4 of the St. Mary's Chronicles!

Hectic days indeed!

First off -- A week ago, I went to a gathering with famed New Testament scholar Helmut Koester. He was talking about how archeology informs our understanding of biblical times. Absolutely fascinating stuff. A small enough crowd that most people with questions could ask them, but a sophisticated enough crowd the questions were smart, to the point and raised some interesting topicss. I love attending things like this -- stepping a little outside of my comfort zone and being rewarded by a great evening.

Koester is a professor emeritus at Harvard -- having taught there for over 50 years. He must be in his late 80's at the very least. Very impressive -- he stood and talked for over an hour. All without notes of any kind. A friend of mine used to be the pastor at the local church he attends. How intimidating would that be to be preaching to one of the top scholars in the field?

This past weekend, the DH and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with another trip to the Berkshires for some theater. What a wonderful weekend, with world class talent!

The WTF Blurb: Fool for Love: Holed up in a seedy motel on the edge of the Mojave Desert, two former lovers unpack the deep secrets and dark desires of their tangled relationship, passionately tearing each other apart. Beaten down by ill-fated love and a ruthless struggle for identity, can they ultimately live with, or without, each other? Led by director Daniel Aukin, Williamstown veteran and enigmatic film star Sam Rockwell and 2012 Tony Award winner Nina Arianda bring an explosive intensity to Sam Shepard’s landmark myth of the new Wild West.

My take -- Incredible performances all around. Any Sam Shepard is going to be intense, and this certainly lived up to expectations. The heat between Rockwell and Arianda was incredible!



Great review in the New York Times

Sounds fascinating, Marianne. The Koester talk, I mean. The other sounds entertaining as well.

The talk sounds like it would have been very interesting. The gentleman sounds as if he would be very knowledgable on his field. It's always great to get the opportunity to learn from someone like that. I've never been to the theatre but it sounds as though it is very entertaining. Hope you have a great weekend, Marianne.

Ah, nice to see Nina Arianda getting some juicy roles. We first saw her in the original off-broadway production of Venus in Fur, and we were totally smitten.

Regarding the discussion of posting online, I am pretty quiet on Feb, just using it to keep up with more energetic and reckless family and friends. And I am always disconcerted when someone broadcasts travel plans - just asking for trouble. Luckily for me, I can't even get to fb from work. And given the firing offense it would be, I never mention my employer by name.

Oooh, Sam Rockwell! I like him quite a bit.

>42 michigantrumpet: Wowee wow wow! I would love to have the opportunity for that sort of thing. Ancient religion is (yet another) interest of mine. I've been reading Sex in History and one of the things she writes about with regard to archeology and interpretation is that the Venus of Willendorf might not have been statues of goddesses but ... basically, porn.

>44 ronincats: >45 NicolePatrick: and >48 AuntieClio: Hello there, Roni, Nicole and Stephanie! Dr. Koester was amazing. The wealth of his knowledge, his ease in presenting it, his ability to handle so many diverse and probing questions -- simply astounding. He was remarking on the decline of some of the pagan religions as Christianity took hold. He told this fascinating story about some archaeological digs have determined early churches were literally built out of old pagan temples. IT was a mind expanding evening.

Love the idea about the Venus of Willendorf -- can COMPLETELY see how that would be!

>46 ffortsa: and >47 scaifea: It was a wonderful play, Judy and Amber. I'd never seen Nina Arianda perform before -- WOW! We were breathless watching her. The chemistry with the very dishy Sam Rockwell was hot, hot, hot!

While we were in Williamstown, we managed to catch a second play -- Living on Love.

The Williamstown Theater Festival blurb: "...World-renowned soprano Renée Fleming takes the Festival stage as celebrated diva Raquel De Angelis. When her husband, the fiery and egomaniacal Maestro Vito De Angelis, becomes enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his long-delayed autobiography, Raquel retaliates by hiring her very own — and very handsome — ghostwriter to chronicle her life as an opera star. As the young writers try to keep themselves out of the story while churning out chapters, the high-energy — and high-maintenance — power duet threatens to fall out of tune for good. A sparkling new comedy from two-time Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro, adapted from a work by the revered Garson Kanin and directed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.

In my estimation, any time you can see a Garson Kanin play, you are in for a good time. This proved to be no exception. DAme Fleming was *perfectly* cast as the opera diva. Standouts were Justin Long ('Mac' in the Mac v. PC ads) and Anna Chlumsky (from HBO's Veep). Justn Long had gerat comedic timing a great stage physicality. Blake Hammond and Scott Robertson both took tiny roles and made them sing. One of my favorites plays for the season.



Great Review and more pictures are here.

The gala Anniversary weekend also included another evening with the Williamstown Theater Festival cabaret. Justin Long was very funny as the emcee, introducing songs and ensemble performances by the non-equity company, and some special 'star' turns by some of the more renowned actors in town.



When signing on for the run of Living on Love, Renee Fleming had resolutely decreed she would not perform in the cabaret. The energy of the other performers must have carried her along in the spirit of things. So, the night we attended - the last of the cabarets, Ms. Fleming took the stage with her daughter and her sister. A rousing performance of "Lean on Me" ended with the entire crowd joining in.

Yes! I got to sing with Renee Fleming!!! What a smile!

Just found a Youtube link for some of the Cabaret:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef2ojcXe5sE&list=UUwc-gjCMq4Ejkyh6IEhvrCQ

Not too long, and guaranteed to add a smile to your day.

44. The Bat by Jo Nesbo
3 stars



A beautiful blonde Norwegian woman is found raped and killed in Sydney,Australia. Oslo detective Harry Hole is sent out to observe and assist in the investigation. Is the murder a crime of passion? OR part of a heretofore unrecognized pattern of a serial killer?

This is actually the first in Jo Nesbo's detective series, but has only recently been translated and published in English. Quite atmospheric and I would love to speak someone who has been there how accurate a portrayal of Sydney it truly is. We meet some wonderfully delineated characterizations and learn some important tidbits from Harry's 'back story.' Even if the tension isn't as highly calibrated as in Nesbo's later stories, this was action packed and quite good.

I know many people hear loved this book. Sadly, it didn't work out so well for me...

45. The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
2 stars



The Zookeeper's Wife has all the elements of a gripping tale, drawn from the diaries and post-WWII accounts of Antonina and her husband Jan, keeper of of the Warsaw Zoo. Due to their efforts, the zoo became an important haven for Jews and resistance fighters. I had high hopes for this book, and perhaps they were unrealistic. As a work of non-fiction, it placed its extensive research front and center, yet I was frustrated by an inability to discover the basis for much of the citations in the end notes. As a story, the many asides and discourses stalled the flow and arc of the narrative.

Stumbling through pages long digressions about beetles and linden trees, I felt like an old prospector sifting through pans of sand looking for the rare nugget of gold. This work has been well reviewed in other quarters, it just didn't work for me. I certainly would love to read the actual diaries and to find out more about this brave couple in the aftermath of that horrible conflict.

Marianne

What wonderful, thought provoking questions. I feel very safe in this group and have been a member since the 2008 beginning. We have grown together and are kind and sensitive folk.

Regarding facebook, I had to testify at a deposition regarding a former employee who was suing her insurance company. I was grilled if her work ethic/ability to do the job suffered as a result of a car accident causing a concussion. Years prior, she was a valued employee and I always took her with me on conferences to help with details. I posted a photo on facebook of time on a beach at night when the group was sharing smiles and we were laughing.

Surprisingly, the prosecuting lawyer for the insurance company told me he went through my facebook pages, found this particular photo and noted she seemed "just fine" and "not compromised." I was in a position wherein I had to defend this photo.

It was a real eye opener regarding facebook and I am VERY careful.

Hello there Linda! I'm always amazed what litigants will post on the FB pages. Had a case in which the claimant was alleging total and unremitting pain relegating him to the sofa in his house 24 hours/day -- only to post on his very public FB page his intention to go skydiving!

The man was so dense -- when I showed up with the videotape (thus making the value of his case a mere pittance) his response was "Cool! Can I have a copy of that?"

Sounds like a great anniversary weekend, Marianne! We have a minor milestone coming up (5 whole years!), and I am trying to get the hubs to focus on planning something but he's not much of a planner... Ah well.

I tried to listen to The Zookeeper's Wife on audio a year or two ago and it did not work for me, either.

>I have to admit, KAK, the planning was all mine. On the other hand, I got to pick the stuff *I* wanted to do, so there was some benefit to that. :-) He went along willingly, though, and professed to enjoy all I'd planned. Smart boy, eh?

I had such high hopes for Zookeeper's Wife. Sigh.

Hi Marianne! Sorry you did not care for TZW. I liked it quite well - hope I did not lead you astray. I guess that book preferences - as with so many other things - are pretty subjective.

Have never heard of or seen Nina Arianda before, but I like her name. Has a lovely sound to it.

Hello Charlotte! Lovely to see you! No fears about steering me astray. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If anything it lead me to look the couple up on the Internet and find out a bit more about them.

Hadn't heard of Nina Arianda much before the past year. It is a lovely name, isn't it? Wonder if it is a stage name...

>61 michigantrumpet: - Hmmm. I hadn't thought about the possibility of a stage name. It does sound awfully perfect, but it could be the real deal.
I love a weird name - at the old office we used to take particular note of the strange or funny ones. One I can remember (though I can't think of the correct spelling just now) was pronounced "Fatty Heinie".

>62 Fourpawz2: Ha! Love that! Thanks for the smile!

Went to a sneak preview of The Hundred-Foot Journey.

Lovely film -- full of family, love of tradition and culture, and good food. No shoot-em-ups and no vampires.

If you love Helen Mirren -- and who doesn't? -- Head out to see this one. Opening on Friday, I think.

>62 Fourpawz2: I had a professor from Nigeria whose name was Sunday Goshit. Pronounced just like you'd imagine. He was always good-humored about all the giggles on the first day of class.

>64 michigantrumpet: so that was good, huh? The trailer makes it look a little too cute. But then, I thought that about Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and it turned out I loved it. Helen Mirren is brilliant, so the film certainly has that going for it.

>65 rosalita: - as Amber would say - snork!

>55 michigantrumpet: I definitely liked that one better than you did.

Hi Marianne! I also had mixed feelings about The Zookeeper's Wife. It was such a good premise, but something was missing in the narrative. That certain magic, that certain NFF books contain? That's my guess, anyway.

I NEED to get back to Mr. Nesbo. I've been seriously neglecting him...

>55 michigantrumpet: that one sounds like it was close but no cigar. I have to say, as you did, the story sounds promising.

I read The Hundred Foot Journey for bookclub a few years ago, I quite liked it but not incredibly so.

Sounds like you had a wonderful time at the Williamstown Theater Festival, Marianne. You're inspiring me to see whether my MBH might go with me some year in combination with a visit to her relatives in the Berkshires.

We've been charmed by the trailers for The One Hundred Foot Journey, and it's heartening to hear your response to it. We'll be going. Helen Mirren is a marvel.

Marianne, the incredible stupidity of people never ceases to amaze me. Like the story of your case above, there have been a couple of criminals caught because they were posting statuses to Facebook while committing the crime. Dude, you belong in a padded cell with crayons if you can't figure out why that's stupid.

Clio! Wow. And in the "olden" days, the cops had to wait a few days to catch people because they started bragging to "friends"

Marianne - interesting comments on The Zookeepers Wife. You've probably pointed out one of the hardest things for a popular biographer to do, balance facts/research/conjecture with a compelling story line.

>62 Fourpawz2: As I recall from an interview, Arianda is her middle name. She comes from an easter European family with some long and difficult last name, so she dropped it professionally.

Jim and I saw her in a Broadway revival of 'Born Yesterday' playing the Judy Holiday part, and she was lovely and very funny.

Happy fourth Thingaversary, Marianne!

Happy Thingaversary!

>65 rosalita: Ha! Julia -- good one! I know so done with the last name, Slutsky. If I married into that family, I would definitely keep my married name! Thanks for the lovely PM, too.

>66 lauralkeet: I like a good story and tend to avoid violence and vampires/dystopia. This movie has a great story and ... Helen Mirren! Love her!

>67 Fourpawz2: What a smile, right, Charlotte?

Happy Fourth Thingaversaurus, Marianne!

Happy Thingaversary, Marianne! You've been a nice addition around here.

ditto what Mark said. You are indeed a nice addition!

Ooooh, happy Thingaversary, Marianne!!

>68 thornton37814: Lori -- that's what makes the world go 'round, eh? Many people liked it quite a bit, so it quite possibly could be me. Everything about it sounded intriguing. Just did hit on all cylinders. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

>69 msf59: Too true, Mark. One got the feeling she had done tons of research and wanted to cram it ALL in there. I'm all for a well researched book -- truly I am. I love a telling detail. But the detail here, to me, stood in the way of the narrative. I've been on a Nesbo tear this year, haven't I?

>70 LovingLit: "...I read The Hundred Foot Journey for bookclub a few years ago, I quite liked it but not incredibly so. Nicely put, Megan. This movie isn't going to be winning any Oscars, but it is a lovely film, well acted, and beautifully filmed, with a good story. In the barren arid landscape of summer movie offerings, that's an oasis of taste and viewing fun!

>71 jnwelch: I end up in the Berkshires several times each year, Joe. Always enjoy myself. Let me know if/when you plan a trip!

>72 AuntieClio: When I was a prosecutor (let's just say pre-FB days), there was a young guy who fancied himself a world class cat burglar. Once he broke in while the family was still in the house. Another time, he was walking out with the stereo when the family came home. Yet another time, he got in and out of the house okay, but left behind his gloves -- in which his grandmother had sewn in name tags. Give it up, already!

>73 cammykitty: Katie, that reminds me of an old episode of 'Dragnet':
Stertorous voiceover of Sgt. Friday: "We played a hunch in searching for the suspect ... We went to his home ... He was there ..."
Crackerjack police work there.

>74 ffortsa: Very interesting, Judy. That role in "Born Yesterday" made Judy Holliday. I'll bet Arianda was fabulous!

>75 richardderus: >76 lkernagh: >78 Storeetllr: >79 msf59: >80 Whisper1: >81 ronincats: Thanks so much, Richard, Lori, Mary, Mark, Linda and Roni for the Thingaversary best wishes. Y'all are quite turning my head...

I'm in Saratoga Springs for the horse races, but imagine a little side trip to a bookstore might have to be negotiated!

So, what are the 5 books you are choosing for your Thingaversary celebration?

>42 michigantrumpet: That must have been fascinating! I'm jealous.

As someone on my FB feed said today, "I would go see Helen Mirren play a tree in an elementary school play". I think the context was a bad review of the film itself, which sounds Hollywoodish -- but who cares? It's still the best option I've heard in months. Everything seems to be all big action stuff -- blech. That said, they're also showing A Most Wanted Man, which I want to see. So there may be movies in my future. And I will be making time for The Giver, when it arrives in the cinemas.

So, back to the privacy discussion.

I suppose I want to make it just that little bit more difficult for someone to find out that Chatterbox is me. Since my book came out the same year that I joined this group, and I mentioned it here, it became fairly hard to stay anonymous. Then, too, people ended up wanting to read stories that I mentioned writing, so I posted links to them. So anyone who cares can figure out who I am. But a Google search alone won't do it (I hope).

I do try not to say anything that I wouldn't say publicly in any other forum, or put in print in some way. The way I express myself might be more informal here, but as I've ended up writing columns and opinion pieces, I've had to get more accustomed to seeing my byline above opinion pieces. The line I try to draw is to never venture down a personal path by commenting on someone else, feuds, etc. I suspect there are times when I'll say something that sounds sharp in response to something that someone else has posted, but hopefully it's always in response to something that has been said, not to the person, and it's a fleeting thing.

What I don't share? Lots of family stuff and some personal history stuff that I don't like to discuss in a general forum that anyone can read. Sometimes I'll mention bits of it in passing if it's particularly relevant or feels really important but only reluctantly. And a lot never gets said at all in the forums. Similarly, stuff that involves other people in my life. I think it's unfair to discuss problems with personal relationships with people who don't have the right of reply. Sure, it means I get the chance to vent, but at what price? When I've done it, I always end up feeling shabby, somehow. Much more so than if I just talk through a particular problem with a close friend on the phone, for instance, until I'm calm and collected again.

Facebook is important to me, because, having grown up all over the place, it's the one forum in which I can gather together all of the folks from all of the phases in my life, who are scattered around the world. My friends from high school, from Monica in Stockholm, to Denny in Jakarta, to Harlan in Virginia. My work buddies, now in places like Mumbai, Tokyo, New York, Montreal, Beijing, London, Capetown, Jerusalem, wherever... My travel friends, in Budapest, Vilnius, Abu Dhabi, etc. etc. Well, you get the picture.

I have tried to trim back the FB friends to people that I really feel a strong bond to -- which meant cutting back by a third, or about 160 people, early this year. I don't think I was oversharing, but I was sharing with too many people. I suspect I'll undertake another round of trimming. I've got a lot of second cousins on there, the only kind that I have; my former boss in Toronto who gave me my first job at the Wall Street Journal, and all kinds of other folks who are such an integral part of my life that I love to share with them -- and i keep my privacy settings on maximum.

I also try to respect their privacy. So I don't post on their feeds, "remember that time that..." and embarrass them. Nor do I post pics of them without their consent. And I think you'll notice that any pics of me anywhere here are VERY old; I definitely am not a fan of having a pic posted without prior consent. A friend and her daughter were here recently on a college tour and she took a picture of the daughter and I, to accompany a pic of me holding Flo when the latter was only 8 hours old; I simply asked her not to post it anywhere. A bit of a fuss ensued. "It's a great photo!" The point to me wasn't whether it was great or not; it was simply that I didn't want the pic out there with my name on it.

I realize that to some extent I have relinquished more privacy than I had originally intended when I joined LT, and at least half the time I'm not comfortable with that. It's not the LT folks that I worry about -- or at least, not this core group here. It's the fact that anyone else looking for information about me and what I am doing, thinking and feeling can mine these posts in search of it, and in some ways, they serve as an online journal. That's a little disquieting. I'm not worried about being burgled while I'm traveling (I'm rarely away for long, anyway...) but what happens if someone takes exception to something I write for publication one day, and decides to try to prove that I'm biased? A lot can go wrong. So that's what I worry about.

Re family and friends: I don't post their pics without approval. I did post some pics of my university graduation on FB recently, but they featured family friends now in their late 70s and late 80s, who I don't think will be too fussed (given my privacy settings) and my friend Freya, who has posted pics of me and vice versa, so we're cool on that. (Besides, it's a 31-year-old pic...)

Long-winded response... Mea culpa!

>72 AuntieClio: Oh dear lord Marianne! ROFL. Give it up is right.

Marianne, your clueless criminals are very funny :-) Here in the UK there have been a few cases of jurors being sent to jail for skipping out mid-trial saying that they were ill, and then putting photos on Facebook of their overseas holiday jaunts. There are also rules here about jurors not being allowed to research the case on the internet, or say anything about the trial they are hearing. One juror "friended" a defendant on Facebook and said she felt sorry for him. Again, d'oh!

Hi Marianne, I'm back from my holiday. I wish you a fabulous Sunday.

>86 Storeetllr: Mary, darling -- wonderful question!

Me: Today's my Thingaversary!
DH: (suspiciously, because he thinks he may have forgotten something important): What's that?
Me: A celebration of the day I joined Library Thing. Traditionally, you get a book for every year you've been a member, plus one to grow on!
DH: (resignedly aghast): But where will you put any more books?

So, in consideration of his space concerns, and with an assist from my delightfully literate foodie friend with whom I spent yesterday, I got the following e-books:

Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
A Pig in Provence by Georgeanne Brennan
Appetite for America by Stephen Fried
Poor Man's Feast by Elissa Altman
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simision

>87 The_Hibernator: Rachel! How lovely to see you! Hope you are enjoying you Summer weekend!

It was a fascinating talk. As with all intriguing things, it seemed to end too soon. It whetted my appetite to learn more. A thoroughly charming and engaging man.

I almost missed the entire thing. It was on a Friday night at the end of a hectic and tiring week. I hadn't eaten. Took place a fair distance from my house. The urge to just keep going home was *almost* overwhelming. So glad I resisted the urge!

>88 Chatterbox: What a wonderfully reasoned response to my query, Suzanne. You, more so than most of us, inhabit that ill-defined middle ground between public persona and private life. Heavens -- one hopes you weren't upset with our poorly lit and crowded Boston Meet Up picture posted around here. I don't think so seeing as the talk at the time was the photo was being taken specifically for posting on these pages ...

You have made me contemplate, though, what makes anyone public fair game, as well as the increasing journalistic incursion on our privacy. In the early '70's, my father died in a small plane crash. The plane was missing for many days and search efforts were undertaken. We had to keep our one telephone line open to hear back from the officials, hoping against hope that all aboard were still somehow safe. The phone rang constantly from various newspapers and Television news stations. Imagine a whole family's anxiety as the phone rang thinking we would hear word on Daddy, only to be assaulted by the press. A few came to the house, too. It's far worse now with the increase in news sources, 24 hour TV news, etc.

To this day, I'm appalled by the idea of cameras camped out on someone's street. Even more concerning is that much of society has somehow come to believe they are entitled to see someone else's very private and personal grief.

I remember a situation where a woman had been murdered. My former secretary was convinced her husband had killed her. (He hadn't.) Her reasoning? He hadn't shown enough tears and distress when she saw him on TV.

See how thought provoking you can be, Suzanne?

Rant over.

>89 AuntieClio: Oh, Stephanie! That one kid gave us a full two years of entertainment! He came from a fairly wealthy family, so, he didn't need to rob anyone. He just was taken with the romantic concept of these movie burglars. His parents, on the other hand, were. not. amused.

>90 susanj67: OMG, Susan -- you've got me going with those juror stories!

There was a big medical malpractice case here in Boston a couple years ago. Trial was entering its third week, when it was discovered the defendant doctor had been capturing his most derogatory and deprecating impressions of the trial, Judge and jury members -- all on his blog! His med-mal carrier settled that one VERY quickly, rather than have the jury told in what contempt he held them all, and how he's described them ...

>91 Ameise1: It is the well-traveled Barbara, returned for her journey! LOVED following along on your trip via your thread. What a wonderful time you had!

Happy Sunday, Marianne. Hope you have a great day planned.

What Mark said, Marianne. I got a big kick out of The Rosie Project. I read it in e-book, and then got one in paperback so I could share it.

>94 michigantrumpet: How heartbreaking, Marianne... And yes, one of the reasons I never ended up doing the general news beat is that I never wanted to sit opposite a grieving parent whose child has just been murdered and ask "how do you feel?" It's clearly the world's most insensitive question, and yet today's readers/viewers want to know, which means if you're doing that job, you have to ask. Which says a lot about today's media consumers...

There are ways to handle the press in those situations, usually by making someone -- a family friend or more distant family member -- a spokesperson for everyone, and giving out their number as a contact. Nowadays, too, there are more stringent rules on trespassing, at least.

No worries re the meetup pic -- it was clear up front that that pic was taken in order to be posted, as a group pic. Had you guys been snapping casual pics at the Co-op, I probably would have made the request not to post those as well, though. In part it is because I have a tiny public profile. It's not large, but it's there. What happens if one day someone decides to say, oh, Suzanne loathes Amazon.com, here are the negative stories she has written about the company, and the reason is because she gets big discounts from shopping at indie bookstores like this -- and then links to the photo? You laugh -- but you also know how an out of context photo can look. And I know how out of context info has been used in the past, in one of those personal examples that I don't care to share, even though it goes way back to 1989! I'll just say that it was a coincidence involving someone I knew slightly misbehaving, that nearly ended up costing me my job, simply because someone threatened to make public the link between me and that person and state an untruth -- basically tried to blackmail me in order to get information from me about that individual for their story. It didn't work, since I went to my bosses instead, but even so, the mere fact that this other individual had done something (without my knowledge) and that this other journalist was willing to manipulate the facts in such a way made me vulnerable in their eyes -- and made me realize the ways in which even an idle comment or picture can be mis-used and mis-represented. I don't think there's a danger with a picture from my childhood or a picture of my cats, and if people have a problem with my opinions, well, I happen to believe that I have a right to those, and I'll live with the consequences: as long as I try to explain myself clearly and coherently so there is no chance of misunderstanding what those are, when they are read in full and in context.

>92 michigantrumpet: Aw, poor MrMichiganTrumpet! It can be hard to live with a bookaholic. :)

>97 jnwelch: That's exactly what I did! I gave the print copy to my 30 year old daughter when she came to visit last month.

>96 msf59: Hello there Mark! Sunday was pretty quiet -- grocery shopping and general getting ready for house guests this week.

Friday and Saturday was our annual trip to Saratoga Springs for the horse racing. The group was 16 people this year, many of whom I hadn't seen in a few months. Some local to Saratoga, others coming from as far away as Chicago!

A steak house dinner the night before, a wander into Saratoga's downtown to pop into the shops and spectacular Farmer's Market, followed by the races starting at 1:00 p.m. Lots of good conversation, a little gossip and some wonderful book recommendations from the bookish of the group. And I only lost $3 for the day!

>97 jnwelch: It looks interesting, Joe! Love that you buy a hard copy after reading the e-book! A great book has a way of worming into one's life, eh?

>98 Chatterbox: Given the back story, makes perfect sense, why you, with the public life would want to avoid pictures. If I ever goof up in future, please let me know and I'll take it down immediately.

Had a lengthy and heated discussion with a friend who writes for a paper out on the West Coast as to what makes someone 'fair game' for journalistic purposes. Needless to say, we didn't see eye to eye.

An Uncle later did take to answering the telephone for us, but our hearts leapt to our mouths every time it rang nevertheless.

>99 Storeetllr: Don't feel too sorry for him, Mary. At least he usually doesn't have to go far when looking for something himself to read! :-)

Happy belated Thingaversary, Marianne!! I see you got some great books to celebrate. Our poor spouses just have no idea. lol

:)

>100 michigantrumpet: Your trip to Saratoga Springs sounds lovely, Marianne. I still haven't been a to a "true" racing meet yet; the closest I've come was harness racing at the local track which just isn't the same to me. Truly, after reading every Dick Francis mystery I want to travel to England and go to Cheltenham or Newmarket for the steeplechasing, but that's just a pipe dream at the moment.

>102 TinaV95: They truly are long-suffering, aren't they, Tina? Given all the vices one could have, it could be worse, I suppose.

>103 rosalita: It's an annual trip for us, Julia. Feel free to join us any time! The horses themselves are beautiful. I love to go to the paddock and watch just as the jockeys, trainers and owners are all gathered for last minute instructions, pictures, etc. Then it's "Riders up!" and the jockeys in their colorful silks are hoisted onto their backs and parade onto the track.

Mourning the loss of icon, Lauren Bacall. I was fortunate to have seen her in 1999 in Noel Coward's play "Waiting in the Wings" about a retirement home for aging actresses. The play itself (at least in the Boston tryouts) was meh, but she shone splendidly.

I met her in 2004 and she was charming, gracious and still beautiful at the age of 79.

A newspaper appreciation: "Right now, Bogie is handing Lauren Bacall a martini. And she's reminding him how to whistle."

Morning Marianne! I am a big film buff too and I LOVE the old films. I enjoyed Bogie and Bacall. Many great films. Hard to believe she was a widow at 32.

^That is great that you got to see her in a play. Very nice.

>106 msf59: Hullo, Mark. Huge fan of old films. Bacall and Bogart -- truly one of the great romances. Shame he died so early.

"Waiting in the Wings" is a bit uneven but has some s
Wonderful roles for older women. Rosemary Harris and Dana Ivey were also in the cast.

My mother and stepdad are now here for a visit. Of course, yesterday was POURING down rain. We made a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts. Saw the Magna Carta exhibit -- amazing to see the 800 year old document which was the basis of the Massachusetts State Constitution.

Oh hang on, I'm coming over for leftovers, especially the raspberry topped chocolate ganache tart

*drool*
Woops, sorry! It was the slow cooked chipotle honey pork tenderloin that made me do it!

>109 AuntieClio: So sorry, Stephanie! No leftovers of the tart. It was incredible though. The recipe is here.

>110 LovingLit: That recipe is a keeper, Megan! We make it all the time. It's in the Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two.

*Elbows Stephanie out of the way for the leftovers*

Sorry, but you can't save everyone...

>108 michigantrumpet: Yum!

>112 scaifea: Hey Amber! Your elbows may be sharper but I am bigger than you.

What's that? You brought Charlie?

Oh FINE ;-)

Okay, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two just skipped past the wish list onto must have NOW .... :-)

>114 AuntieClio: *snork!*

Happy Sunday, Marianne! Hope you have an R & R day planned.

Interesting discussion about privacy. I've met a few LTers in person and have been somewhat more forthcoming with some of them. For the most part, I may refer to events in my life but I don't name names, beyond saying "my niece" did this or a friend said that, or something like that. I don't even mention names much on FB, just their relationship to me.

>108 michigantrumpet:: Marianne, you are giving your dad and stepmom the royal treatment. The museums sound great and I would love to visit them, but your described meal sounds divine! Off to check out the slow cooker recipe book. It looks like something I might get from the library to find a few "keeper" recipes.

I'm still enjoying the privacy issue conversation. Oh, and a Happy Belated Thingaversary. Your ebook selections were a good choice - great books that don't take up room on a shelf. I'm looking forward to reading my e-book version of The Rosie Project.

Marianne, I am still finding the discussion on privacy issues fascinating. Thanks for raising such an interesting topic. Oh, and Belated Happy Thingaversary! I think you did the wise thing selecting e-books. I'm looking forward to reading my own e-copy of The Rosie Project.

>108 michigantrumpet:: You are giving your dad and stepmom the royal treatment. I would love to visit the Boston museums, but that dinner you described was even more enticing to me. I'm off to see if my library has the slow cooker cookbook so I can snag some keeper recipes like the chipotle honey pork tenderloin. Sounds mouth-watering to me and one that my husband would like as well. Win-win!

I think you'll have a good time with The Rosie Project, Donna. I got a kick out of it.

>112 scaifea: >114 AuntieClio: >116 scaifea: Stephanie and Amber, you both had me in stitches! Feel free to visit any time and I'll be sure to make sure there's plenty for you all.

>113 kidzdoc: >115 AuntieClio: >119 Donna828: That cookbook is definitely a keeper, Darryl, Steph and Donna. I don't care for a lot of slow cooker recipes, but I've found very little there I didn't like. the only thing -- it is very generous in estimating what "Two" can eat. With salad, veg and a dessert, most can be stretched out for more than one meal.

>118 lindapanzo: Hello there Linda. You join several people in making a distinction between what one posts on FB and on LT. Very interesting discussion. I think I end up referring to people not by name but by relationship to me as well.

>120 Donna828: and >121 jnwelch: Well, Linda, The Rosie Project has gotten a lot of positive feedback. I think even Joe likes it!!

Well, hello there all! Whew! Back from a whirlwind vacation with Mom and StepDad. It was go, go go all the time. I'm *almost* glad to be back at work just to rest up from it all!

Thursday, we went to a visit to the Museum of WWII. Absolutely amazing. The place is in my backyard and I hadn't been there before? Shameful. I expect this to be on the regular rotation for upcoming visitors of a similar bent.

Kenneth Rendell, expert in historical documents has an office in my town. Besides buying and selling historical documents and signatures -- he famously debunked the Hitler Diaries about 20 years ago -- he has a passion for WWII. His collection has eventually grown in size to fill an entire warehouse/museum. Original artifacts include:

*Hitler's childhood grammar book
*Hindenberg's 1933 dissolution of the Riechstag and call for new elections
*Draft of Munich Agreement with Hitler and Chamberlain's handwritten notations
*6 different Enigma coding machines
*Original manuscript JFK's Why England Slept
*German bombing maps of London
*Photos and letters of Holocaust including Anne Frank, Raoul Wallenberg, Himmler, Eichmann & Mengele
*First message of attack on Pearl Harbor
*Patton's battle helmet
*Bust of Hitler used by Patton as a door stop
*FDR's transmission of Lend-Lease Act to Congress
*Eisenhower's letters to Mamie abut the strains of leading the Allied Forces and sending young men into battle
*Robert Frost's ration book
*Hemingway's press pass to the front line, Spanish Civil War
*MacArthur's Corregidor evacuation orders
*Complete set of D-Day attack plans
*Eisenhower's message to the World the attack on Normandy has begun
*Dresses made from D-Day parachute material
*Letters from both Eisenhower and Rommel to their wives June 9, 1944
*Adolph Hitler telephone/address book
*Hitler's chair from bunker in Reichschancellery
*Blood stained upholstery from sofa where Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide
*Nuremberg trial documents
*Artifacts from the Enola Gay
*MacArthur's draft of the Japanese terms of surrender

We spent 4 hours there. Could have been 4 days. Amazing and overwhelming.

Wikipedia link to the Museum is here

Friday, we drove to the Berkshires, including a stop at The Mount, Edith Wharton's Lenox home in which she put into practice her design theories from her Decoration of Houses, and from which she wrote The House of Mirth. A gorgeous day during which we ate on the terrace overlooking the gardens, toured the home and wandered the landscape. Lovely

Saturday found us in Williamstown, where we had a lovely breakfast and walked through the local farmer's market.

From there, we drove to Hildene, Robert Todd Lincoln's summer home. He was the only child of Abraham Lincoln to live beyond childhood. Lots of Lincoln family artifacts on display. Apparently recently discovered documents in an old safe in the homne has led to a reappraisal in RTL's part in the committal of his mother Mary Todd Lincoln. Picked up an interesting book --The Madness of Mary Lincoln on the subject.

Quite a jump up from the log cabin, eh?

That night we attended the Williamstown Theater Festival's production of Terrence McNally's "The Visit" (book by Erb and Kander of 'Chicago' and 'Cabaret' fame). It starred Chita Rivera and Roger Rees. They were wonderful.

The Blurb: In her Festival debut, Broadway legend Chita Rivera embodies Claire Zachanassian, the oft-widowed richest woman in the world, who returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth. The locals pray that her wealth will bring them a new lease on life, but the carefully plotted renewal she offers carries a dreadful price. Sardonic and morally complex, The Visit asks: What can your heart afford? Featuring Festival favorite Roger Rees and helmed by Tony Award-winning director John Doyle, this incendiary musical is one of the last collaborations between the incomparable John Kander and Fred Ebb, with a book by Tony Award winner Terrence McNally and choreography by the legendary Graciela Daniele.

My TakeSome may remember a movie with Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn. The 90 minute no intermission play was intense with fabulous performances and remarkable set design. If you only want your musicals to be bright and frothy, this one isn't for you. There are hopes this might make it to Broadway. We'll see. Rivera and Rees were remarkable.

On Sunday, I took Mom and StepDad for their first visit to that diamond in the woods -- the Clark Art Museum. They loved as much as we do. They are already planning their return trip for another visit!!

After that, we took in the matinee of the WTF's "The Old Man and The Old Moon"

The Blurb: The endlessly imaginative PigPen Theatre Co. comes to Williamstown with a luminously lo-fi spectacle that elevates traditional storytelling to high art. Their fantastical, song-filled tale takes us to the end of the world when an old man abandons his duty of filling the moon with liquid light to search for his missing wife. With a rollicking array of ever-changing characters, inventive theatrical effects, and an infectious contemporary folk sound, these seven young actor musicians transform the seemingly ordinary into sheer wonder. Great for ages 7 and up.

My Take For once the blurb doesn't do this wonderful example of collaborative story telling and theater justice. Imaginative and entertaining. A wonderful end to our Williamstown season.




With that our vacation came to an end. I'm so lucky to have spent so much time with them both. The DH had to work, but joined us Friday evening in the Berkshires. A great time was had by all!

Well! That's out of the way! I've missed you all. Hoping to get around the threads soon to visit everyone.

Hope all's well with everyone.

What did I miss?

Your visit with your mom and stepdad sounds like it was a lot of fun. I'm tired just reading about it. :-) So glad that "a great time was had by all."

Thanks Julia! The folks did a fantastic job of keeping up! I hope I don't get run in for 'senior abuse' for all the walking I put them through ...

>117 msf59: Missed you up there Mark! Hoping for a little R&R this week -- I'm soooo behind on reading.

Just as my travels are ending, yours are starting up!

Sounds like a great time was had by all, but it's good to have you back.

Marianne, it sounds like you had a fantastic weekend with your Mum and Stepdad. Both of the plays sound very interesting and I love the costumes. Much more interesting than my writing assignments, thats for sure.

Whoa, you *have* been busy! I'd love to visit Hildene someday...

>132 ronincats: Thanks Roni! I loved the visit, but it's good to be back. Still sifting through all the stuff that piled up on my work desk in my absence. Slowly making my way around the threads to catch up on everyone else's news.

>133 NicolePatrick: Oh Nicole, the costumes and set design for both plays were wonderful. The brilliant yellow shoes were striking and there was a great song and dance number about them about 2/3's into the play.

>134 scaifea:. We so enjoyed the trip to Hildene, Amber. In front of the immense house was a little brick outline of the size of Abraham Lincoln's log cabin. Quite a visual reminder of what can be accomplished in the space of a generation.

It was a last minute decision to go there, and we were so glad we did.

>128 michigantrumpet: "What did I miss?" I'd say "not a blessed thing!" I was at The Mount several years ago, but the WWII museum and Hildene are places I did not even know about. I can see that another trip to New England is a must for our future. Thanks so much for sharing your adventures. LT is about so much more than books. I think one of the best features of this group (and one or two others I frequent) is how we share our travels around the world.

Marianne, you have been very busy. I love all your photos and the comments. Thanks a lot for sharing them.

>122 michigantrumpet: I did like The Rosie Project, Marianne - I should have at least said hello to you while telling Donna that! Sometimes I zip around the threads too fast. Sorry about that!

The Museum of WWII sounds fascinating, and I'd never heard of it. Thanks for alerting us. Our true crime loving daughter would be drawn to that blood-stained couch, while her parents stand back a ways and wince.

Edith Wharton's home looks cool, and it sounds and looks like you saw two more wonderful Williamstown Theater productions. How was Rees' singing?

Hildene! Wow!!

And a *smooch* for a pleasantly busy week.

>137 Ameise1: Not quite as thrilling as your England trip, Barbara, but we had fun!

>138 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. I DEFINITELY plan on going back to the Museum of WWII in the future. Impossible to synthesize everything. You will want to check out their WEB site before going. It is a private museum and has limited hours. You should e-mail them in advance for availability and to reserve a spot. Their Website is here.

Edith Wharton's home is lovely AND they do tons of wonderful literary programs, readings, etc. Andres Dubus II was there earlier this summer. Joanna Rakoff was there last Friday to discuss My Salinger Year, but we couldn't stay.

Roger Rees has a very good voice, although not as strong as Rivera's. There were several moments with his character, Rivera's and a couple playing their younger selves, all singing and it blended quite well. He definitely wasn't drowned out.

>139 richardderus: I know!! And to think I almost missed it! *Smooches* back, Richard.

Hiya! Great trip review. I'm tired just from reading about it.

Wow! Sounds like you had a great vacation! Love the pictures. Those "houses" are unbelievable. Yup, far cry from the log cabin.

Sounds like a lovely vacation indeed! I wasn't aware that Kander and Ebb had written a musical of "The Visit", which I last saw on Broadway with Jane Alexander and Harris Yullin, I think. Jim and I did see the other play, "The Old Man and the Old Moon", at a little theater space in Greenwich Village last year. It was a lot of fun.

I've never been to The Mount, but Jim has and talks about it now and then. Maybe we'll get up there again next year. We want to see the new incarnation of the Clark as well.

Marianne, I wish you a fabulous weekend full of reading.

Happy week ahead, Marianne, and much interesting work to do.

Hi Marianne, I hope your weekend was a good one.

>124 michigantrumpet:: The Mount is on my literary bucket list. I took an Edith Wharton course a few years ago at Missouri State and loved learning about her life, not to mention reading quite a few of her books. I still have some, though, that I'm saving.

>141 AuntieClio: Hiya, Steph! Like many good vacations, it was fun and exhausting in equal measure. We certainly packed a lot in!

>142 cammykitty: Hello Katie! Over the years, we've done a lot of house tours. These two headed to the tops of the list. Both very elegant, graceful, well proportioned and comfortable. Robert Lincoln's library was to die for!


>143 ffortsa: You and Jim both manage to see the most interesting theater there in NYC. I just live for my Williamstown weekends, and the bits that come through Boston.

Making "The Visit" into a musical was far more successful than I'd thought, though not as successful as perhaps one would like. It will be interesting to see if it makes it to Broadway.

The Mount -- and the Clark -- are well worth the effort.

>144 Ameise1: Thanks for the lovely picture, Barbara! Love that color! Haven't accomplished much reading. Digging out at work, and finishing up tons of laundry. Vacations are fun, but it takes a while to get back into one's routine again, doesn't it?

>145 richardderus: Thanks Richard, m'dear. Lots of getting caught up. Gone for several days and my desk looks like a paper factory blew up... *sigh*

>146 Donna828: So happy to find another Edith Wharton aficionado! I see a Meet Up to visit the Mount in our futures, no? Quite a woman.

46. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
4 stars



Many of us here on LibraryThing have adopted a false dichotomy of 'tree' books v. 'electronic' books in an all one or the other fashion. This delightful romp wraps up that dichotomy in a fantastical excursion through the shelves, clientele and mystery of a quirky bookstore and the high tech machinations of Google. Is it truly just one or the other? Can the two co-exist? Can our young protagonists solve the secret guarded by Mr. Penumbra and his cohorts? I am bound to be intrigued any novel about books, reading and bookstores. The more eccentric the better. I was not disappointed by this charming tale.

47. American Heiress: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin
3 Stars



A Gilded Age romance based largely on the true life of Consuelo Vanderbilt, wealthiest of debutantes and winner of the 'marriage sweepstakes', capturing a British Duke. These American lovelies were the prize in the calculated trade of immense dowry for European title. In this story, our beautiful heroine's last name -- Cora Cash -- is a telling mash up of her namesake Lady Grantham of Downton Abbey fame and the attributes most cherished in these youthful heiresses. The romance itself (for me, at least) was rather tedious, particularly towards the end. More engaging was the side story involving Cora's beloved colored maid from the US.

Overall, this was a fast read and wore its research fairly lightly. It will appeal to fans of the above and below stairs machinations of TV series, such as Downton Abbey. For those wanting a little more substance, try To Marry an English Lord. Also, Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: A Story of a Mother and a Daughter in the Gilded Age.. More generally isFortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt.

Hi Marianne! Just checking in, after my Booktopia adventures. Hope you had a nice weekend. Glad you enjoyed Mr. Penumbra. I was a fan of that one too!

>149 michigantrumpet: >150 michigantrumpet: These two are both on my TBR pile - one on my kindle and one on the bookshelf!

Marianne, glad you like Mr. Penumbra. I thought it was a great story.

I liked Mr. Penumbra, but I loved Ready Player One even better. Have you read that?

Didn't even know there was a World War II Museam in Boston. Definately on my list for our next trip.

(The thumping sound you will be hearing is Judy fighting like a steer as I drag her to it.)

I had the chance to play with an Enigma machine once in DC - was fascinated by the almost clockwork tick tick tick of it and how many twists and turns it makes in coding a message. Gives you more respect for the ingenious boffins of Bletchley Park who worked out how to beat it.

I read Mr. Penumbra as an audiobook on my Tablet while working out - did enjoy it.

>154 ronincats: Roni, I hope Marianne doesn't mind the blood on her carpet from that book bullet. :-)

>154 ronincats: I am a big fan of Ready Player One but then I am pretty squarely in the demographic that that book is aimed at.

Wow - what a wonderful vacation - love all the photos.

I'm intrigued about the Mary Todd Lincoln book. I've always been fascinated with her.

I think I need to add Mr. Penumbra to my wishlist.

>Thanks for posting your comments Marianne! I'm started to read this book last night.

>150 michigantrumpet: Marianne you might poke a nose into The Custom of the Country Edith Warton's wonderful novel about the Smart Set in the Gilded Age in New York City.

It's by far my favorite Wharton - she ain't playing in this one - she's out for blood.

>151 msf59: Hello there, Mark! Welcome back from Booktopia. Few trips equal those spent in a large group of booklovers! I've loved reading all about your escapades with KAK and her husband. Lovely pictures you posted, too.

>152 CDVicarage: Now that's a coincidence, Kerry! You'll have to tell me what you think!

>153 AuntieClio: I quite enjoyed it, Steph. Mr. Penumbra is such a charming man, isn't he?

>154 ronincats: Haven't read Ready Player One yet, Roni. I was never one for computer games. Will that put me off, do you think?

>155 magicians_nephew: It's a private collection, which Rendell opens up to people at specific times. You need to write in advance to get in. Well worth the trouble, in my estimation.

I was completely fascinated by the Enigma machines. Thank heavens for the smart people in Bletchley who figured that one out. Can quite understand why the Germans thought it was unbreakable.

>156 AuntieClio: Funny you brought that up, Steph! Spent all of Sunday steamcleaning the carpets. Cue the Twilight Zone music ...

>160 magicians_nephew: oh I agree completely! That's a GREAT book.

wow- you have been up to so much. And so many literary-themed excusions. Very cool.

So, did you see the blood-stained couch from where Hitler and Eva committed suicide!? Ew. That is really bringing history to the fore!

>156 AuntieClio: LOL!

@164 Blood-stained? I imagined them popping a pair of cyanide pills.

@147 That library really is to die for! Of course, if it was mine, it would quickly become cluttered and the books would be overflowing out of the shelves. But what a lot of space to clutter!

I'm starting to get intrigued by Mr. Penumbra.

>165 cammykitty: Yes, I was surprised by the reference to blood stains too. I always thought poison was their method. Apparently historians mostly accept that he shot himself and she took cyanide.

>155 magicians_nephew: I do not thump like a steer, sir. As you will know when I thump you! Humph.

Did someone say, Ready Player One? Swoons a little...What a blast that book was. Happy weekend, Marianne.

Marianne, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

I love your vacation photos, Marianne! Looks like you all had a fabulous time.

And I doubt you could be cited for senior abuse as long as the folks had fun LOL! :)

Hi, Marianne! Just passing through.

Hi Marianne. Waving and trying to catch up!

Like Judy and Connie, I'm waving and sending hellos.

Happy Labor Day! Hope your weather is good and you are enjoying a fun holiday. Are you doing anything special?

Envious of your travels! The only time I made it to the Mount, I couldn't get in. I do have to make an attempt to get back to Tanglewood, however. Perhaps an LT road trip next summer? Meanwhile, I suppose I should start scrutinizing the MFA and Boston Symphony schedules for the fall -- and planning a trip that can include that WW2 museum...

Happy autumn!

Hiya Marianne!

>157 Oberon: I'm not so certain I do fall into that demographic, Erik. Do you think someone who missed out on the early computers/gaming/fantasy world will also enjoy it?

>158 SuziQoregon: Thanks, Juli. Mr. Penumbra has such wonderful quotes about books, writing and reading, I would imagine most book lovers will find something that resonates.

>159 Whisper1: Between Charles Lindbergh and Consuelo Vanderbilt, you and I have been traveling very similar reading paths these days, Linda.

>160 magicians_nephew: >163 lauralkeet: I SOOO agree Jim and Laura about Custom of the Country. Undine Spragg is wonderfully depicted character. Don't you just love her? I should get that one out and re-read it yet again.

>164 LovingLit: >165 cammykitty: >166 laytonwoman3rd: Fortunately for me, it was only a 10" x 5" blood stained swatch of fabric for the couch, Megan, Katie and Linda. I was surprised about the reference to shooting as well. Had to look it up after the visit. Apparently, Eva Braun took cyanide, AH took the gun. A VERY popular exhibit with some of the younger boys there that day.

>177 michigantrumpet: I will be honest, I am not sure how well someone outside of that world would make the connection. The whole book was littered with references to '80s video games, Dungeons and Dragons, cartoons, etc. It isn't like these are casual references either. The whole idea is that the protagonist has to figure out a massive puzzle left by an '80s obsessed video gamer. The trivia is the story in many ways. If a discussion of cheat codes built into early video game systems sounds really boring to you, I think I would recommend skipping Ready Player One. I hate saying that because I loved the book but it was a book that I recommended to a buddy of mine but not to my mother (or even to my sister who is a child of the '80s but lacks the video game connection).

Other people have apparently enjoyed it who lacked the background I have so don't take what I say as gospel. For me, the book worked because it was a nostalgic review of my nerdy childhood.

Hi Marianne and *hugs*

Marianne, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

I'm old enough to be Erik's mother, and although I didn't get all the gaming allusions and the 80s trivia, I got enough to really enjoy the story, Marianne.

>178 michigantrumpet: I'll bet it was! Boys seem fascinated with guns, blood and Hitler. Sometimes I wonder if he hasn't become an "ultimate evil" in some computer game. That's how they act. As though he is fiction on the line with zombies.

Hi Marianne, I hope everything is fine. I wish you a wonderful weekend.

Hi there, anybody about? Maybe you are off about in RL for a bit. So, Ill just pop back later and see where it's at :)

You didn't pop up for a while, and I was afraid I'd misplaced your thread, as I sometimes do that. Everything OK by you?

Hi Marianne,
I'm trying to catch up with folks, slowly but surely. I think you must be having a busy September. I know there are some things going on for you..... I hope you are hanging in there and taking good care of yourself.

Please, join Diana (Wilkiec)'s thread. She needs our support. Thanks a lot.

Hello??? Missing you Marianne. *hugs*

Hope all is well there, Marianne. Also missing you.

I was just thinking that I hadn't heard from you in awhile. I guess life has caught up with you as it has with me.

Marianne??? *knocks gently*

Marianne, where ever you are I wish yyou a ovely Sunday.

Hey partner?

An awful lot of LT regulars seem to be MIA. I hope this doesn't mean something in a cosmic sense.

Marianne?

How are you Marianne! I hope you are doing all kind of fun things!

>196 jnwelch: While Marianne is disporting herself somewhere else, I'll take up residence here. I'll just move a chair under one of the trees. Maybe I'll sweep up a bit first.

Thinking of you, Marianne...

>198 ffortsa: :-) Sounds good, Judy. With a bit of a sweep it could be a pretty nice place to wait for Marianne's return.

I'm worried about the trees getting enough light. Grow lights or knock a bit more of the ceiling down?

Marianne, we need you back so you can answer such important questions for us.

Hi Marianne! Sometimes I see you posting on other threads. Could there be the strange possibility that you can't find your own thread? ;-)

I am guessing RL is a little busy for you right now, Marianne so I thought I would pop in with a happy "Hi There!"

>202 msf59: Awww!

Hi again....just checking :)

Marianne, I wish you a goegeous weekend.

She's been sighted, posting on other threads!

So, Gosh! You all have been just so wonderful keeping things neat and tidy around here. Loving the renovations and especially the skylight someone put in. The built in bookshelves on the mezzanine level were absolutely inspired. I am blessed with such lovely friends! (And I meant that last part quite truly.)

September has lapsed into October. Real life has called and I answered. Lots of things humming at work. DH had a little medical thing that turned out to be not so bad. (Whew!) a whole week in September dedicated to that wonderful Ken Burns documentary on the Roosevelts.

Travels abound to Lenox MA, Williamstown (again) and visits to friends in Saratoga, NY (including a visit to the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival. (Yum!) Several more trips planned in October and November will keep us hopping!

I have been busy following the (mis)fortunes of my beloved Michigan Wolverines. Right now, I'm in our hotel in Piscataway NJ getting ready to head out to the big Michigan tailgate before our battle with the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. We're with friends from Ann Arbor and having a blast. Fingers crossed for a good game.

I've been managing to keep the reading going, at least.

The most daunting task has been trying to get caught up on everyone's threads. I'm not sure what to do about that -- I want to know what has been happening in everyone's life for the past month, but it has been slow going. Do I keep on slowly getting to everyone, or just ignore the past and jump I now?

Many thanks again for checking in. I adore you all.

Jump in now. You can always go back at your leisure and catch up if you want to.

Glad that RL has been mostly positive busy, and Yay, everyone, Marianne's BACK!

You're alive! Yay!
Don't worry about my thread. It doesn't move very fast so it is easily caught-uppable.

Whew! You're back!

I know what you mean about the threads. I am perpetually behind. >210 ronincats: solution is probably the most possible. I usually give up about now and make resolutions for the new year!

Hooray! Thanks for checking in Marianne! Sounds like life is treating you well.

>209 michigantrumpet: As for me, there hasn't been anything startlingly new on my thread; please feel free to jump in and carry on without catching up.

Whoosh. Glad all is well, and welcome back to the fray!

Go Blue! Have fun, Marianne!

Hi, Marianne. It sounds like you are having a fantastic time at the moment, except for your husbands medical issue. Have a great weekend, Marianne!

Lovely to see your update and happy to see the outcome of your husband's medical issue. Have a wonderful weekend, Marianne!

>210 ronincats: thanks Roni! Hoping to stop in with people on the trip home tomorrow -- unless I'm drafted into doing the driving!

>211 Fourpawz2: Aren't you the sweetest, Charlotte! And I love the term 'caught-uppable.'

>212 ffortsa: Hello there Judy! As we we driving through NYC on Friday, I was thinking of you and Jim. SLIGHT chance of us stopping at The Cloisters tomorrow. Have never been. Worth the stop?

>213 lauralkeet: thanks Laura! Everyone has been so great keeping my thread warm for me!

>214 laytonwoman3rd: hello Linda! I will catch up. Yes. Really. I think ...

>215 Chatterbox: Howdy Suzanne. Yes, 'the fray' is just how it feels!

>216 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. Very hoarse rooting on the Blue tonight. Too bad the damage to the vocal cords was to no avail. Lots of travails for the Michigan faithful. Heading back to A2 for the Penn State game. Seeing family and friends will make up for a lackluster team. I hope ....

>217 NicolePatrick: Thanks Nicole. Hope all's going well with you.

>218 lkernagh: thanks Lori! Surprisingly, given the loss to Rutgers, the weekend is still turning out nicely. The weather cleared just in time for our tailgate. Got to depend time with friends who flew in from Michigan as well as the DH's college roommate and his wife. We are blessed to have wonderful people in our lives.

>219 michigantrumpet:. Oh, the Cloisters is definitely worth a stop! This time of year, the surrounding park will be lovely too.

DEFINITELY the Cloisters! It's fabulous. Hopefully you are there right now, with the sun out, and enjoying every bit of it...

Enjoy your time! I'm glad that you are well. I missed you.

Another vote for the Cloisters.

Sorry about Saturday (go Rutgers!).

Phew, all is well,
I'll save you the catching up on my thread and just let you know here. I had a birthday, my son turned 6, I got an A for my essay, I am stressed about writing the next one (with school holidays meaning less quiet time), school holiday adventures (fishing, visiting, picnicking, play-grounding, walking, bike rides, digging holes in lawn and baking), and mainly looking forward to Spring springing and Summer bursting through!
There. :)
And you?

Glad you could check in with us, Marianne! You were missed. Hope you had a good weekend.

Good to have you back, Mary Jo!!

Agree with the consensus... Skip to now or you'll never catch up!!!

Sounds like you have been one busy lady! Glad Hubby's medical thing was not a big deal. Very glad you're hanging in & enjoying life. :)

Marianne, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Glad you are back, Marianne. And I totally understand it. I get caught up in RL on a regular basis. Nothing wrong with that!

Yep - real life has kept me from reading and checking in with folks around here too. Every time I think I'm going to get some time something else happens. Pfft! So today I just said forget all that other stuff. I'm reading threads.

Your recent travels sound lovely and fun.

48. The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Kenneally
4 stars



This year marks the centennial of the start of WWI -- a global collapse into brutality as horrific as Mars, the ancient Roman god of war, could have possibly devised. We have often been treated in novels and non-fiction to the male perspective. For Australian soldiers like those in this narrative), their participation has rightly been viewed as heroic. Thomas Keneally has chosen instead to portray this conflict from the view of Australian volunteer nurses, particularly the two Durance sisters, Sally and Naomi. Through them, we are dropped into Gallipoli, Lemnos, the sinking of the Archimedes and the Western Front.

This is a gripping tale which kept me rapt from first to last. The tensions between the sisters, their sense of alienation from their home and family, mirror in some respects the tensions between the warring nations. Keneally's choice of dialogue sans quotation marks has distressed some. It wasn't an issue for me -- the pace continued to race along. I found the choice of alternate endings to be more offputting. It does have the fortunate result of giving something for everyone. I intend to search out more books from this author.

49. Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss
3.5 Stars



A sobering examination of commercial food's hyperutilization of sugar, salt and fat, intentionally aimed at increasing the products' addictive hold and increasing sales. Michael Moss compellingly details how corporate bottom lines override the consequences to customers' health and well being. Shocking to learn just how much more sugar, salt and fat has been added over the years to products than what I remembered as a kid. Read this book and you will look at food marketing and processed foods with a jaundiced eye.

50. The Rise & Fall of Great Powers by Tom Rachman
4 Stars



Many people, like me, will have come to The Rise and Fall of Great Powers after having read Tom Rachman's earlier loosely related collection of short stories in The Imperfectionists. This has much of the same quirkiness, but in a more sustained way. Moving back and forth between time periods, we follow young Tooly around the world including Wales, New York and Thailand. Hers is an unconventional upbringing, shrouded with mystery, not the least which being -- who are these strange people and what is her relationship to them? Iconoclastic Humphrey quickly became one of my favorite literary characters. The aptly named Venn, resembled the eponymous diagram in that he is defined most in those points in which his life intersects with others. If you dislike books with unreliable narrators, this one is not for you. If you must 'like' the protagonists, similarly avoid this book. If you are looking for solid writing, great characterization and an engaging plot, I heartily recommend this read.

51. A Weekend in the Country: Seasonal Recipes and Ideas for Relaxed Entertaining
by Sally Anne Scott, Linda Burgess
2.5 Stars



One of those beautifully photographed 'lifestyle' books, this time focused on the genteel country weekend. Lots of recipes, gorgeously set tables, and well arranged bedrooms abound. My one quibble is the recipes rely heavily on cooking with flowers. A little goes a long way. For those who love cookbook 'porn', Martha or Nigella, a good fun read.

52. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
by Ben McIntyre
4 Stars



Much has been written over the years about master spy, Kim Philby. For those at all interested, little here is unfamiliar -- at least in the general outline. Educated at Cambridge, by the start of WWII, he was a full-fledged member of England’s foreign security service – MI6. With the close of the war, Philby worked his way up the ranks to be the DC liaison to the CIA. All the while, working as a Soviet double agent, passing along secrets leading to thousands of compromised operations and dead operatives. On the verge of being unmasked, he fled to Moscow, where he lived out his days.

Readers of his earlier books will know Ben McIntyre has made a cottage industry of taking previously classified documents regarding WWII espionage and bringing them to life. There are no newly released documents here, but McIntyre’s lively writing style has been brilliantly polished and honed by now. He presents the tale through the lens of Philby’s friendships – primarily with MI6 superstar, Nicholas Elliott, but also with CIA head, James Jesus Angleton. Elliott and Philby came up through the ranks together. They were the closest of friends. When Philby first came under suspicion, Elliott was his most ardent defender. Angleton learned spycraft from Philby and met him regularly for lunch and espionage gossip in Washington DC. Philby’s double agent activities and later defection were horrible betrayals to both.

This was a most engaging book. The extent of the deception and the ways in which Elliott, Angleton and Philby felt about and dealt with it in the aftermath is very intriguing. I was taken by the extent to which the “Old Boy Network” operated to advance and protect Philby and blinker his colleagues and friends. There is a wonderful Afterward by John Le Carre, detailing a lengthy set of interviews with Nicholas Elliott.

How much do we really know one another? Few of us have suffered anything of this magnitude, but many of us likely have felt betrayal and surprise in our own lives. The wife with a secret lover, the business partner skimming profits, the good friend revealing your secrets behind your back … All amateurs compared with Kim Philby, a master of deception.

Thank you Judy, Suz and Darryl for the wonderful recommendation to stop at The Cloisters!

I've driven by the exit SOOO many times, always saying, the NEXT time, I'll stop in. Of course, that never happened. With your encouragement, I finally found this lovely, peaceful little gem. Glorious early Fall weather, and transporting room after room.

Nothing soothes the football sore heart like a little Medieval art!

Hi Marianne! Good to see all the reading going on. It looks like we had similar feelings The Rise and Fall of Great Powers. I like Rachman's writing. I also liked Salt, Sugar, Fat and I have A Spy Among Friends, waiting in the audio stacks. Macintyre has quickly become one of my favorite NF writers.

Hope the week is going well.

Hi Marianne!

When I get behind, which occurs quite frequently, I usually take the just-sump-in-here-and-now approach. It means I sometimes say something and have the thread-owner say "well, Ellen, as I said up in post 27, ..." but mostly people are understanding. We all do the best we can.

I'm glad you got in some good reading while you've been dealing with real life. Watching Ken Burns and traveling to New Jersey to watch football all sounds good.

I have A Spy Among Friends sitting by my bedside, yet unread. I hope to get to it before New Years Eve. :-|

>239 msf59: Hello there Mark! I had hoped to get the Rachman through the ER program only to be disappointed. I think it was your warbling which made me search it out! Salt Sugar Fat was *supposed* to come through the ER program, but never arrived -- I've had a spate of bad luck in the regard. Saw it available through the library. Completist that I am, I had to check it out.

Huge Ben McIntyre fan. I find his work very accessible.

>240 EBT1002: Howdy Ellen! I recommend A Spy Among Friends -- even if you think you know all about Kim Philby, this is an interesting take on him and his relationships.

Am slowly making my way around the threads. Some are more daunting than others ...

Loved following you around Scotland!

>233 michigantrumpet: - Have you watched the TV mini-series Anzac Girls? It has a very similar story line as The Daughters of Mars with a focus on a group of Australian volunteer nurses in Gallipoli, Lemnos, Cairo and Alexandria. Suffice to say, you have hit me with a book bullet for The Daughter of Mars!

>234 michigantrumpet: - No BB this time as I keep on meaning to get around to reading it. I am already doing what I can to reduce the processed foods that we consume but I think that book will convince me I need to do more.

>235 michigantrumpet: - Darn it all, enough with the BB's! I loved The Imperfectionists so this appears to be an easy direct hit on your part. ;-)

I am caught up now.

Hey, you're all caught up now! Glad to have you back.

Look at all dem reviews! Lovely. I am interested in the Rachman one. Too scared to read the "salt sugar fat" one, it might be too confronting given my current diet (although, it does not have caffeine in the title....)

>243 lkernagh: We aim to please Lori! Never saw the 'Anzac Girls.' Now I'm intrigued.

>244 ronincats: VERY behind on reviews. Have only posted 52 and I've read 66 thus far. Slow and steady wins the race, right?

>245 LovingLit: Hello there Megan! Salt Sugar Fat gave me the impetus to at least *try* to stay away from processed foods. I can attest to addictive power of Oreo cookies, though.

^ I can at least say that my main meals are made from scratch. I sometimes used a jar of pasta sauce, but making my own is just as easy (nearly). And I have a love of pot-stirring, so. :)

Megan, I think the 'from scratch' part is exactly what the author would prescribe. I've become much better at reading food content labels, too.

Finally!! All caught up on threads!! (I think!)

Logging off now before I see anyone has posted anything new!!

>233 michigantrumpet: The Daughters of Mars
This has been on my WL for awhile, since I heard Thomas Kenneally speak at the National Book Festival last year...
>237 michigantrumpet: A Spy Among Friends
And this too, based on... I forget whose review on LT.

It'd be nice if WL meant I'd get to it soon, but alas...

Marianne you might have a look at Kenneally's Gossip from the Forest another look at The Great War from another part of the , err . forest.

Fascinating to read A Spy Among Friends along side Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy - easy to see Le Carre took a lot from the real life story of the "group of Five"

>251 magicians_nephew: Le Carre also worked for MI5. I bet he had a lot of real life experience to draw on,

Marianne, I'm very glad that you're back. It was impossible for me to catch up here although I tried. What I have now is a firm resolve not to fall so far behind again. You have good stuff going on! And I'm happy to see another Daughters of Mars lover.

What a wonderful review of The Daughters of Mars. It is now on the tbr pile.

Marianne, it's great to have you back. I wish you a fantastic weekend.

>250 qebo: Thanks Katherine! I am very jealous of your having heard Kenneally speak. I know what you mean about WLs. Mine is so long it trails into the distance.

>251 magicians_nephew: Hello Jim! Thanks for the heads up about that other Kenneally -- I love books that bring a *unique* perspective. It's so wonderful when the literary device works.

>252 lauralkeet: I'd forgotten about Le Carre being in MI5, Laura. Pretty fascinating stuff.

>253 LizzieD: It's great to be back, Peggy! Although life is going to get busy again soon. I SOOO know what you mean about trying to get caught up in threads. Feel free to jump in here any time. You're right about all the Daughters of Mars love around here - deservedly so.

>254 Whisper1: We aim to please, Linda! You and I have similar tastes, so I suspect you may like it.

>255 Ameise1: what a lovely picture, Barbara! Hope you enjoy your weekend as well.

Lots happening this weekend!

Saw Michigan's hockey team trounce UMass Lowell last night. UML is rated 7th in the country, Michigan 14th, so it was set to be a tough match up. Our seats were directly behind the Michigan bench which was fun. Score Michigan 8 UML 4.

Later today will be a little Michigan football (likely getting trounced by our cross state rival, MSU) and then more hockey as the Wolverines visit the Boston U Terriers.

The highlight will be most of today being spent at the Boston Book Festival at several sessions. Suzanne is planning on coming up to join me -- especially for the one 'Where's My Good Review?' Led by Peter Stothard of the TLS.

Www.bostonbookfest.org

It's a great line up -- so many choices! What would you choose if you were me?

It's always a good weekend when you can indulge not one, but two of your passions!

Ooh, a book festival! Sounds dreamy, Marianne. Keep us posted and have a wonderful day.

Marianne I never miss a chance to beat the drum about Keneally.

Everyone knows him for Schindler's List but hes got a body of work that just dazzles me. One of the best books about our Civil War Confederates and great book about the penal colony days of Australia The Playmaker and a bakers dozen others, just as good.

Anybody want to start a "reading Thomas Keneally Book Club" sign me up

>247 LovingLit: and >248 michigantrumpet: What is this "from scratch" thing you people are talking about?? ;o)

I really MUST get to that book!

I need to read some more Keneally -- Perhaps Confederates will be next. After his two Great War novels, I'm in the mood for something else by him.

Hi, Marianne ~ Hope you enjoyed the book festival! What did you end up doing?

>261 TinaV95: :)
I am often shocked when people put up recipes that contain (as individual ingredients) things like pre-made icing or cookie dough. I cant remember right now, but to me (and maybe most NZers) baking or cooking means making it from scratch. I have seriously had eyeballs on sticks at some of the recipes I have seen on LT!

And as for Thomas Keneally, I have yet to read him! *tut tut*

>262 Chatterbox: Confederates is a good 'un. Or The Playmaker. Or Blood Red Sister Rose which was my first Keneally.

I also would like to know, too what you have done at the book festival.

Oh how was the book festival? Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend going. Hope it all went well.

Hi Marianne, for some reason unknown to me your thread got unstared. Anyway I found you again :) hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Hi, Marianne....I know from Suz's thread that you enjoyed the festival, but I'd love to hear about it from your pov.
>264 LovingLit: I gave up on cooking with young women when we were invited to bring ingredients and recipes for cookies to the women in our local family violence shelter. I was the only one who brought stuff that had to be combined before it was baked - and most of the others didn't have to be baked at all. Weird. Really. (They decided not to do mine, so I came home and made a very satisfying batch of brown-edged cookies.)

>260 magicians_nephew: >262 Chatterbox: >265 magicians_nephew: Hello there Jim and Suzanne! I truly enjoyed my first foray with Mr. Kenneally. My library has available Office of Innocence heading back to Australia during WWI. Have either of you read that one?

>268 NicolePatrick: Thanks for finding me again, Nicole! Everything is good, albeit hectic, here.

>261 TinaV95: >264 LovingLit: >269 LizzieD: Nice discussion about cooking 'from scratch' Tina, Megan and Peggy. I saw a discussion somewhere recently complaining that now that today's up and coming chefs/cooks aren't learning cooking at home, but only at culinary arts schools, the food world is slowly losing it's connection with those simple nourishing meals.

I love cooking 'from scratch' and it often doesn't take any more time than to heat something up. Having read Salt Sugar Fat I'm even more conscious of trying to avoid processed foods. If I do pick up something quick, I tend to get something pre-made at the supermarket, like a salad or roasted chicken.

>263 Storeetllr: >266 Ameise1: >267 SuziQoregon: Thanks for asking about the Boston Book Fest, Mary, Barbara and Juli! You've given me inspiration for my new thread!

Follow me to a nice discussion of book festivals and author talks!!